Mobile Robot Sensor Pointing With Alignment Pose Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robotic systems face challenges in accurately and autonomously capturing sensor data from a target location without user intervention, particularly in aligning sensors to the desired orientation and direction, which affects the accuracy and repeatability of data capture.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that enables a robot to receive a sensor pointing command, determine a target direction and alignment pose based on sensor orientation relative to a target location, and adjust its pose to align the sensor accordingly, allowing it to capture data accurately and autonomously.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If the robot autonomously determines alignment pose and target direction, then user supervision is eliminated, but sensor orientation and positional errors affect capture accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs feedback mechanisms where the robot continuously monitors its own sensor orientation and positional data, compares it against the target location, and automatically adjusts its alignment pose to compensate for detected errors, thereby maintaining capture accuracy throughout autonomous operation
Solution Approach 2:
The robot performs self-alignment and self-correction of sensor pointing without external intervention by using its own onboard sensors and computational systems to determine and execute the necessary pose adjustments autonomously
2Measurement precision
If the robot adjusts pose to compensate for sensor orientation errors, then sensor data capture accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot's existing navigation and localization systems are adapted to also perform alignment pose determination, allowing the same hardware and software infrastructure to serve multiple functions including positioning, orientation, and sensor pointing control without requiring entirely separate dedicated systems
3Measurement precision
If the robot navigates to target location and aligns sensor, then data capture accuracy is improved, but time to complete task increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs preliminary alignment calculations and pose determinations during the navigation phase, so that when the robot reaches the target location, the sensor is already positioned and oriented correctly for immediate data capture, minimizing the time spent on alignment adjustments at the destination
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method executed by data processing hardware of a robot causes the data processing hardware to perform operations. The operations include receiving a sensor pointing command that commands the robot to use a sensor to capture sensor data of a location in an environment of the robot. The sensor is disposed on the robot. The operations include determining, based on an orientation of the sensor relative to the location, a direction for pointing the sensor toward the location, and an alignment pose of the robot to cause the sensor to point in the direction toward the location. The operations include commanding the robot to move from a current pose to the alignment pose. After the robot moves to the alignment pose and the sensor is pointing in the direction toward the location, the operations include commanding the sensor to capture the sensor data of the location in the environment.